The Black Assassin
by N.kirby
Summary: Creeping around the Lylat System, and doing very rather violent jobs for clients, an assassin is sent to go after the Anglar Emperor, of all things. They were prepared for the acidic ocean where the Emperor lied, but not for what their actual fate would end up being. (Short one-shot, mentions of violent imagery, takes place only a while before the Anglar Blitz)


**(Just going to be posting some old one-shots on this account but all polished up, since I'm pretty much not using it for big stories anymore. Hope you enjoy a story that for a change in this category, is centered on the Anglar Empire, kinda.)**

* * *

 **The Black Assassin**

"Hey sweetheart, you here all alone?"

The hawk gave a peculiar look, one directed to the girl across from him, a black marlin. She didn't say much, and instead, focused on the bottled drinks, occasionally glancing around the bar she was in. "Not very chatty, I see," the hawk said, "most like coming to Papetoon for some quiet, but you look like you could use some company more than anything."

She stared at the hawk, and then looked at the bar keep, who didn't even see her come in. "Maybe," she finally muttered, not even able to say anything more, as the hawk wrapped his feathery arm around the marlin. She didn't flinch, or push him away, like he expected her to.

"A pretty face you are, for a broadbill. A real fish out of water." He laughed at the bad joke he had just made, not caring for her lack of a reaction. "How 'bout we get outta here, and I warm you up, huh?" Getting up from his seat, and trying to pull the marlin up, she didn't resist the advance, and took his leave with her. He did not bother paying for the drink he had, figuring the barkeep would put it on his tab.

She was slender. The fins on her head brushed over her left eye, as if it was hair, the hawk couldn't help but enjoy what he had just caught. Out of the bar, alone, on a night in Papetoon. Picking up strangers was a bad idea to most, but he didn't care, especially he fancied them. Not to mention, the marlin was by herself.

"What'd you come to a lonely planet like Papetoon for anyway?"

"Particular people."

"Ah, really now?" He grinned, not caring actually for what she was saying.

"Such as… yourself _._ "

He perked up when the marlin said that last bit, smiling even more. "You're too flattering, love! If it's me you want, I'll give you—!" The hawk choked on his words, feeling something, a string of some kind, tighten around his throat. He was so focused on holding the marlin close to him, and forming a conversation with her, that he didn't see that she was armed.

That is, armed with a fiber wire. "You're worth a lot," the marlin said, keeping her voice low as ever. Even if they were alone, in the desert planet of Papetoon, she could not risk a single peep to be echoed through the night. Once she was finished, the hawk was permanently silenced. The marlin lowered his body to the desert sands. She wasn't going to bother giving this guy a burial. The sand on him would have been blown away, easily.

Slowly, she pulled out a harpe. A blade, which had a curved part protruding near the tip. Hiding her work was a pain, and showing it off was more fun, in some sort of sick way. It was her "calling card", so to speak. Leaving things in a grim way, yet making sure that she was never seen, or left her own DNA behind for investigators. Even when a victim tried to take a piece of her with them, she made sure to take it back.

The assassin who lurked among the Lylat System. Never seen, except by her victims. Never leaving a trace of herself behind.

Upon being finished with all of it, the marlin walked across the desert, and back to her spacecraft, which recently had special adjustments added to it. Booting up a computer, and checking the request she was sent, the marlin informed her client that the job was done. She would be expecting a reward sent her way soon, but that was when a new task popped into her feed.

One that had a high risk, but a high reward for her. An amount she would not have imagined.

* * *

An assassination attempt was rare, especially in Venom of all places.

With Andross being dead for years, the only living things on that planet were the Anglar Empire. It made no sense for someone to try sending an assassin after them. Yet, for whatever reason, a killer was hired to do just that.

That client surely must have detested the Anglar Emperor. Perhaps they wanted revenge, or they wanted to stop potential invasions from the Anglars. The most likely chance was it came from one who resided in either Corneria, or Aquas. None of it mattered to the marlin though, at least, not right now.

Landing her spacecraft, customized so it was able to withstand the toxic ocean, the fishy character stepped out. Wearing protective gear, so none of the acidic water would make contact with her, she snuck into the palace. No security for the marlin to worry about in and outside the palace, allowing her to sneak around. Hoping all the Anglarians were resting, the assassin thought this would be an easy kill.

There was just no way the Emperor would be able fight back. Especially not when there was a cold blade sticking in their vital organs. Unsheathing the harpe, the assassin thought over which method would be the nicest… As in, most brutal— _and rather edgy_ — way. Decapitation, perhaps. Sticking an anglerfish's head on a pike would be rather amusing, and a shock for the servants to wake up to. It was probably better to not make a mess, or noisy commotion.

Opening the door to the Emperor's room, she saw the old fool lying there, with their eyes closed. A perfect chance if she ever saw one. Stepping past the door frame, she held up her harpe, quietly approaching the slumbering Anglar.

That was as far as the assassin went, however.

"Get away from the Emperor!"

Just before the marlin could turn around and see who it was, she was struck and held down by another fish; an Anglarian, who was awake. Trying to slice him with the harpe, he only smacked it out of the marlin's hands.

The Emperor awoke, startled by the sudden noises. "Zazan? What is going on!?" Noticing the target was awake, the marlin began to panic, unable to reach for her weapon nor could they find a way to strike the Emperor. Their only chance was to break free of the larger Anglarian's hold.

During an attempt to subdue the intruder, Zazan was suddenly smacked in the head by the marlin's broadbill, even if she was masked by her protective gear. She then made a run for it, in which Zazan drew a pair of knives from his shoulder pads.

Rather than furious, the Anglar Emperor smirked, speaking in an amused tone. "Go after them, Zazan." They chuckled, jumping out of the bed. Doing as he was told, the underling took chase, darting the hallways to try and catch up.

The marlin jumped out of the palace's window, remembering well enough that she was still in Venom's ocean, trying to swim for her spacecraft. Sadly for the marlin, Zazan was just as swift as she was, proceeding to cut her off. It wasn't worth risking her craft, or being killed inside of it, the marlin made her way to the shore. If she could get rid of Zazan there, and then flee, that would be fine, even if they couldn't collect the reward. It would be preferable to kill him, and the Emperor, but that seemed far too great of a risk now.

Pulling themselves to the surface, the marlin saw that Zazan was no longer directly on their trail. It allowed her to unsheathe another weapon; a longsword of some sort, that was strapped to their back. It took two hands to wield, making it a no brainer that it would have been difficult to fight back earlier— especially with Zazan nearby.

Now, all they could do was wait for him to show up, which he did. Zazan stopped the moment he saw the blade. Not out of fear, but confusion. "Alright, I gotta ask," he murmured, "why do you willingly lug around a heavy, steel sword, as opposed to one made of plasma?… Or perhaps, a blaster if you're going to try to fend me off?" He questioned, preparing to circle the marlin, carrying daggers in his fins. "Not that I'm against these circumstances, if you know how to hold that thing. It just seems like it'll either be too easy… for me that is."

He lunged at the assassin, who blocked off Zazan's daggers with the sword. Their strengths were almost even, it seemed that it could go either way. Yet, Zazan knew, that his foe was armored, with that gear they were wearing. Meaning a simple cut with the daggers wouldn't be enough. He had to expose his enemy first, before any damage could be done.

* * *

The Emperor reached the surface soon after, watching the two clash. Leaving the ocean was difficult, so the Emperor remained in the water, witnessing the battle from close by. There wasn't any doubt in their mind, that Zazan would win. Unlike him, the assassin would surely grow weary, carrying around that giant weapon, and probably not used to Venom's climate— even if she was inside of a suit. Though, if Zazan ran out of stamina and was on the verge of death, from not being under the water, then they would have a problem.

Thankfully, Zazan wanted to make this fast, and knew not to push himself too hard. He jumped to the side, avoiding the longsword, and slicing a large slit in the enemy's suit. They flinched from feeling the acidic air against their skin, allowing Zazan to punch the marlin to the ground, since they let their guard down.

Even though her grip was still on the sword, the marlin's protective mask was soon torn off, revealing her face. Zazan had a feeling that she was was either a marlin, or some kind of swordfish from the start, because of how he was literally smacked by her bill. She even attempted it a second time right then, only for Zazan to grab her by the nose, and hold her down.

Breathing in the air of this planet, especially the sea breeze from that acidic ocean, made the marlin weaker than before. The Anglar Emperor approached them, and clapped, enjoying the show that was put on. "Excellent job on capturing the intruder, Zazan. Now then, whatever shall we do with her?"

Zazan glanced at his superior, still not losing focus on the assassin. "My liege, do you not wish for me to dispose of them?" He asked. The Emperor replied by shaking their head, looking down at the marlin.

"I cannot let something like this go to waste. She came here on her own— no doubt, paid to." The Emperor held out the harpe that the marlin left behind in the palace. "How about this, we'll double whatever it was you were offered, if you go after the one who hired you in the first place. And further more, you will help the Anglar Empire in taking over the Lylat System."

There was nothing but silence. The marlin wasn't speaking at all.

"Ignoring the Emperor who decides to acknowledge you? So, do you simply wish to die?" They grinned, while the marlin's eyes widened. "Zazan will gladly tie you up, leave you with an open wound… and let you take a dive into the Venom ocean, without your precious mask or suit to protect you. Shhhahahaha!"

With a sigh, the marlin spoke. "Anything for my life, or a reward, as humiliating as this situation is." The Emperor was pleasantly surprised to get such a response, as was Zazan.

"My liege, she tried to kill you! Why would you ask this one to be on your side so suddenly?" Zazan questioned, not letting go of the marlin, even for a second. "What if she betrays you!?"

"Calm down, Zazan. I know what I am doing. I just need someone to take care of the other planets that we all plan on conquering." The Anglar Emperor chuckled again, "I need a hand with Zoness, after all."

Unamused by the Emperor's attitude, the marlin mumbled, "Consider it done… if you assist in pulling my craft out of the water, firstly." Weakly, she got up to her feet, now that Zazan let her go. There wasn't any reason to refuse at this point. More cash was always the biggest priority, after all.

"As for my name… it's Zwei."

It took Zazan only a few seconds to understand why she had that name, considering the longsword she was swinging around. She wasn't a swordfish though, she was a marlin, which were from a different family entirely. He wasn't going to point out how stupid that was, as tempting as it was.

"You are free to go, but we will contact you soon."

* * *

"I'll ask one more time, my liege… are you absolutely sure about her?"

"Oikonny is on Fichina, Octoman is sending Zako to handle Aquas, Zoldge is controlling a weapon on Solar— while at the same time, he keeps things under control in Macbeth for us." The Emperor explained to the underling, ready to go back to bed. "And you, are in charge of Corneria, Zazan. Like I said, someone needs to occupy Zoness."

Getting into the soft bed, the Emperor then began pondering about the assassin's capabilities. She probably wouldn't return to Venom if it was under attack. It would be too far away for her to aid in an emergency, much like Zoldge said he could not, in order to manage the Solar Satellite.

With a chuckle, Zazan was puzzled yet again at whatever gears were turning in his master's head. "Do not mind it, Zazan. I shall reign victorious, at this rate. You'll see, soon enough… Now then—"

"I am not going to tell you a bedtime story, your excellency." The Anglar Emperor flinched upon that sudden response, as Zazan continued. "You are older than I, it is an unusual request that you often have, I apologize if I am jumping to conclusions."

"W-what do you mean you won't!?"

"Oh, I guess my assumption was correct then." Zazan mumbled to himself, hoping the Emperor did not hear his remark. "Perhaps, you should try counting eels until you fall asleep? I am around to protect you, my liege, just as I did for you when that assassin appeared, but I need rest as well." Exiting the room, Zazan went to his own for sleep, which wasn't too far away from the Emperor's.

"W-wait, Zazan!… Bah, forget it!" The Emperor pouted, annoyed that their most loyal vassal wasn't going to give in to petty demands this time. Though, considering Zazan had just fought off an assassin of all things, outside of the ocean to boot. It was no wonder that Zazan was probably too exhausted.

The Emperor plucked off the pair of fake whiskers on their face, and placed them on the nightstand, becoming comfortable while lying on their stomach. They smiled again while drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Everything was in place, things would go much more smoothly than before. The new hired gun, would be successful, surely. That's what the Emperor told themselves, before falling asleep.

In just several hours, the Anglar Empire would hold a meeting. Hopefully, no one would make a fool out of themselves in front of the new face. The Emperor had to make sure they got plenty of sleep until then.

 **End**

* * *

 **(Like I said, it was only a short one-shot for a fan-character, who is sent to a planet that is strangely enough, excluded from Command. So I'm sorry if this feels it could use more material to it, or if it's kinda boring.**

 **I got a few others I'm probably going to polish, then post on this account.)**


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